So we have these impressive ultra-high resolution smartphones, yet we still can’t seem to play 4k youtube videos on Android. Some devices can’t even play 1440p YouTube videos despite having the appropriate screen resolution. Luckily, there is a simple trick that you can do to get a higher resolution format via the YouTube app on your phone, even if your screen resolution is not 4k. Essentially, we are going to add a line to the build prop that “tricks” the YouTube app into thinking you have a different display size.
What You Will Need:
- Terminal Emulator
- Rooted Android Device
How To:
Open up the terminal emulator app and type in the following commands:
su
setprop sys.display-size 3840x2160
If you have the youtube app opened, close it (or force stop it). Now go back into the app and find a 4K video (or watch one of mine). You should now have more HD formats to choose from. You might not get a 2160p option but you should definitely have a 1440p option.